US Open women’s tennis: Who is Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old who won the Grand Slam title

Gauff, the third American teenager to win the US Open after Tracy Austin and Serena Williams, thanked all those who doubted her talent. “Honestly thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” she joked. “To those who thought they were putting water on my fire, they were putting gas on my fire and I’m burning so bright right now.” This win has come as a remarkable turnaround for Gauff, who was left distraught after a first round exit at Wimbledon in July. 

Here’s all you need to know about Coco Gauff

-Coco Gauff (Cori Dionne Gauff) was born to Candi and Corey Gauff on 13 March 2004 in Delray Beach, Florida.

-Gauff started playing tennis at the age of six and growing up, her tennis idols were Serena and Venus Williams.

– A former world number one junior, Gauff started her professional career on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit in 2018, as reported by Reuters.

-In 2019, she won her maiden WTA singles title at Linz and came to prominence when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon as a qualifier, where she was beaten by eventual champion Simona Halep. 

-She has also won two doubles titles with Caty McNally.

-In 2020, Gauff reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and cracked the top 50 in the world for the first time.

-Gauff won her second Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles title at Parma in 2021 and reached the quarter-finals of the French Open, where she lost to eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova. Gauff also reached the U.S. Open women’s doubles final with McNally.

-Gauff claimed the biggest title to date of her career at the Cincinnati Open in 2023. Also won in Washington D.C. in the build-up to the U.S. Open.

-She beat Aryna Sabalenka to become the first American woman to win the US Open since Sloane Stephens in 2017.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Updated: 10 Sep 2023, 07:56 AM IST